When the sun comes up, the dawn chorus erupts! Birds break out in song early in the morning, showing off their varied tunes and amazing vocal abilities. Biologists Kent McFarland and Sara Zahendra were at the UVM Jericho Research Forest at 5:30 a.m. to listen, record and explain why and how birds sing. The program may help you identify some of the birds you can pick out of the chorus. And Kent McFarland will demonstrate how the Wood Thrush can actually sing two notes at once!
You don't have to travel far to hear the Wood Thrush and the beautiful variety of song birds in Vermont. You'll hear them in most wooded areas. The live Vermont eBird map of bird sightings will help you find them - and you can add your own sightings.
Learn more about bird songs and how to recognize them at The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
You may be able to hear a Wood Thrush if you live near a woodlot. Cornell has more information and recordings of the Thrush and other birds.
The Vermont Center for EcoStudies published The New Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas this spring.
Outdoor Radio is a new monthly feature produced in collaboration with the Vermont Center for EcoStudies in Norwich Vermont. The program explores the sounds and science of our natural world. Biologists Kent McFarland and Sara Zahendra host the program, bringing you their expertise, knowledge of current trends and events that are impacting our environment, and their love of the outdoors.
Outdoor Radio is made possible by the VPR Journalism Fund and by a grant to VCE from the Vermont Community Foundation. VPR’s Chief Production Engineer, Chris Albertine, is the audio engineer.
VCE, a non-profit group of biologists based in Norwich, promotes wildlife conservation across the Americas with scientific research and citizen engagement. VCE Scientists study and protect birds, insects, amphibians and other wildlife from Canada to South America.
Broadcast Thursday, June 26 at 8:50am
